Lucky Star
by phoenixreal
Summary: Johnny Joestar finds himself exiled from the domed city of Nova Columbia. Fearing the unknown that he will encounter as he is deposited on the Morioh Islands, Johnny is in a completely new world. Johnny/Gyro, Bruno/Leone, Mista/Giorno/Fugo/Trish/Narancia poly group.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Exiled

Humanity took to the stars. An alien race who called themselves the Magellanics contacted humans in the late twenty-first century. That race offered humans fantastic technological developments, on the condition that they not be used for violence or oppression, and those that settled among the stars be open-minded. Humanity accepted and thus began their exploration and expansion into the galaxy. Over the next few decades, humans created many new societies and learned how to terraform even the most uninhabitable locations. In the corner of the galaxy, a terraformed planet named Murakami gave rise to a divided society in the domed city of Nova Columbia. There was a strict division between the upper-class and the lower-class, with no middle between the two. People could move between the classes, sometimes by force. Outside the dome, the world was feared by even the poorest of the citizens. They were safe in their bubble.

Johnny Joestar would definitely have said he was born unlucky. A member off a once upper-class family in Nova Columbia, Johnny often thought that he had to have worse luck than anyone he knew. Their family had been relegated to lower-class status for years now, something his father had never really recovered from. The upper class often fought and pushed out families, and the Joestars were one such casualty. His father had always favored his brother, then his brother was exiled, assumed dead now.

He'd been young and naïve when he met a gorgeous older woman. She was an upper-class lady, and to have someone from the upper class pay attention to a person like Johnny was not unheard of. Johnny was good looking and had the right attitude that he could have moved up in the classes give the proper chance. He didn't think much of it. Johnny simply thought his luck might have changed.

He was never so wrong. He ended up in bed with the woman, and things were going splendidly. Then the door burst open and the gun report was like thunder. At first, he hadn't felt anything at all, just a sudden numbness as he fell to the floor, blood running down his back as he tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't. He would find out later that he'd been a victim of a couple who had a sort of fetish for that sort of thing. The wife would take a younger man as a lover, the husband would burst in and shoot the offending man, and then they would have heated sex while the victim of their games lay bleeding.

Johnny didn't die from his wounds, but again his cursed luck struck because he was struck paralyzed from the waist down. Now and then, he'd get painful tingles of something to his feet, but they were few and far between. He learned to live a completely different way over the next three years. He became able to take care of himself and make do with only his arms. He spent a lot of time in the bars and drinking himself into a stupor.

Then, everything changed again. This time he had been drunk and passed out. He remembered so very little of the night, that all he could remember was coming to consciousness and feeling someone's body on him. He was so hazy, though he couldn't tell if it was a woman or a man, but they were obviously using him for their own pleasure when he couldn't even think straight. He remembered weakly pushing at them and telling them to stop before passing out again. He awoke the next morning half dressed on the floor in his room. He had no idea who had been there and no idea what had actually happened. For a couple months, nothing came of it. He avoided the same bars he'd been going to and just did his work during the day at the office building. He couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching him. He just put it on the idea that he was incredibly unlucky.

Now, he was sure his luck had completely run out. He could hear the waves and sounds around him. He'd been exiled; why, they didn't tell him. His heart beat like a drum as he sat, bound and stripped of all his clothes with a blindfold covering his eyes. He couldn't get his hands free and he couldn't tell anything about where he was. All he knew is what they were told about what happened when a person was exiled to the islands outside the domed city of Nova Columbia. They were told that the islands were the most depraved place in all the world. They were told no one came back from it. They said that there were rape gangs that would chase you down within minutes of being left on the islands. They said the people there would have sex with anything, living or dead. They said they had massive gatherings and did horrible things. They said so many frightening things about this place that he was now in.

He heard splashing and voices nearby. He would have run if he could have, he knew that. The islands were full of terrible people. There was nothing there but a painful death; that's what he'd always heard. There were such horrors that made the worst of the slums look like beautiful places. That's what they were always told. To be sent to the islands, to be exiled, it was a slow waking death.

He heard the voices getting closer and tried to crawl away from them on the sand. He knew it was of no use, but he couldn't help but try.

"Dad, I don't think this one can walk," a higher pitched voice near his left side. He gasped and turned his head toward the sound.

"Smartass, I can see that," a second, gruffer voice from his right side. They were around him.

"Here," he heard a third voice and felt something drop around his shoulders that felt soft. A blanket? "We gonna keep him bound up 'til we get to there this time?"

"Yeah, don't need any sudden heroics on the Crosstown Traffic," the gruffer voice said. "That was a fiasco that time. Here, I'll get 'im."

Johnny felt his body being lifted and once again he was overcome with fear of the unknown. Where were these people taking him? Who were they? What did they intend to do with him? He felt he was sat down on something that was relatively soft and he tried to calm his breathing. He felt someone sit down beside him and start petting his head.

"We'll take care of you, what's yer name?" the first one said. "I'm L.A. and this here's my dad, Benjamin, and my brother Andre. We used to be outlaws you know. We used to raid travelers at the Devil's Palm, and…"

"L.A.!" the gruff voice said over the sound of a motor starting. "Don't tell him that stuff about what we did in the past, tell him about the island!"

Johnny had no idea what these people were about. L.A. started to pet his head again. "Okay, so we have a weekly sabbath, and we have this ceremonial fire and people throw in offerings. When they do, the flame changes color!"

Johnny swallowed as they began to move on some sort of boat if he didn't miss his guess. "We gonna get back in time for dinner, dad?" It was the other one, Andre it was.

"Why, you got a date?" the gruff voice of Benjamin said.

"Yeah, I'm seeing that girl again tonight."

"Boy, you're gonna get yourself killed with that choking you have them girls do," Benjamin's voice responded to him.

Johnny again wondered what type of people had just found him. He swallowed nervously as the one called L.A. kept up his chatter that Johnny only half listened to. He was too worried about what would come. They'd told him that he wouldn't last long at all considering he couldn't walk. These people didn't seem like they were going to harm him even as weird as they were. He jerked a bit as the boat came to a stop again.

"We're here!" L.A. announced, and Johnny felt his heartrate shoot up just thinking about the unknown.

Once again, he was lifted up and walked somewhere else. He heard noises around him and then was sat down on something that seemed soft. He flexed his hands in the plastic cuffs that had been put on him. He then heard the father talking to someone and he felt someone come closer to him.

"Hello, I'm a doctor here. My name is Gyro Zeppeli, and I'm going to uncover your eyes, so you can see and get these cuffs off your wrists."

Johnny nodded, taking a shaky breath as he felt someone moving the blanket to get to his hands and felt the cold metal slide against his skin. He blinked at the bright light as the blindfold was removed from his eyes. It was glaring and hurt his eyes a bit. He found himself looking at a blond-haired man in some sort of medical outfit. He had his long hair pulled back in a tail at his neck and was looking at him green eyes. His hands came free and he pulled them around in front to rub at the reddened skin of his wrists.

"Here," Gyro passed Johnny a bundle. "What's your name?"

Johnny saw that it was some sort of hospital gown and shrugged out of the blanket to pull it on over his head. "Um, J-Johnny Joestar," he stammered as he pulled the gown down over himself. He at least felt less exposed now.

"Johnny," Gyro said and gave him a crooked smile. "I'm going to check you over and then we'll go from there. You don't have the use of your legs?"

Johnny shook his head. "Not for the last three years," he said as he used his hands to move himself a little on the bed he was sitting on.

"Well, we have a wheelchair here that you can use. Now, tell me, what have you heard about our little islands?" he asked as he pulled on his stethoscope to listen to Johnny's chest.

"Um, mostly that it was depraved and horrible." Johnny was looking around and saw a black haired young man helping. He had a strange looking hairstyle. "Ah, that there were all sorts of rituals and orgies and stuff like that. The stories are that there are rapists and murderers and all sorts of terrible people on the islands. They said that I wouldn't last long because I couldn't walk…"

"Still the same stories," Gyro sighed and checked over Johnny's arms and then his legs. "I must apologize for the Boom-Boom family. Our regular people for picking up exiles were occupied. Benjamin and his boys are good at picking up people when we need it, but they tend to make people more nervous."

Gyro stepped back and looked him over with a smile. "I'd like you to stay here for at least a week until the adjustment sickness passes."

"Adjustment sickness?" Johnny asked with a frown.

"Yeah, for about a week, you'll feel generally bad as your body adjusted to the change from the sealed environment of Nova Columbia to the outside world. You'll adjust over that week to the new area you now live in." Gyro gestured at the younger dark-haired man that was helping him. "This is my intern, Josuke Higashikata. He'll be around if I'm not, and I'll have a regular nurse assigned to you."

"Where will I go after the week?" Johnny asked, trying not to be nervous or worried, but he couldn't help it at this point.

"That, we'll figure out. We often put newcomers with someone who lives here for a while until they know the area, then we get them into a place of their own. You were lucky to have been picked up so quickly. We have a drone that keeps an eye on that island for when someone gets dropped off out there." Gyro seemed like a kind person, and Johnny was starting to feel a little better about his situation. "Do you have any questions for me?" he asked as he stepped back.

"I don't know, it's all so much right now. I just don't know how to accept all of this so quickly. It was all lies?" Johnny put his hand to his head and rubbed his temple. "But why would they tell us such horrible things about the Islands out here?"

"To keep people in line," Gyro explained with a sigh. "Remember where you came from, and what it was like. Were you upper or lower-class?"

"Well, we used to be upper class, but there was some plot to throw us out, so my family became lower-class. My father never really recovered from it," Johnny told him as he continued to look around him. He was still partially in disbelief of what had happened to him and where he was. Could everything this man was telling him be true? Had it all been a web of lies from the people that ran the city?

Johnny looked over to the door to the room they were in where a nurse had brought a wheelchair for him. Johnny thought it looked similar to most medical place he'd been to, but it was a little warmer and friendlier. It felt less sterile than the hospital in Nova Columbia. There, it was all white and blank everywhere around the place. Here, it was much more relaxed. The walls were soft colors, and there was a window looking outside.

"Here, I'll help you transfer," Gyro said as he took the chair from the nurse and pushed it over toward the bed.

"No, I'll do it," Johnny said as he carefully maneuvered himself from the exam bed to the chair. "I'm used to doing things on my own."

Gyro nodded, and the nurse came around and got behind him to push him where they were going. "We'll get you set up in a room for now and you can rest for today or you're free to move about the hospital if you like."

The room was a nice single occupant room with a window that faced the main street of the island. He wheeled over to it and looked out, seeing people milling about. Gyro smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can kind of get an idea how the place works from here, I think."

Johnny nodded and saw that there were people passing by.

"How do things work here?" Johnny asked. "I mean, I can't do a lot of things, and they said I'd never walk again…"

"They said that?" Gyro asked with an arched brow. "Would you allow me to try and see if we can't get some use of your legs back?"

Johnny looked up with wide eyes. "You think you could do that?"

"I think that you didn't get the best treatment in Nova Columbia, so who knows what your actual condition is. I think that after the first week is over, I'll run some tests on you and see where we are." Gyro placed a hand on Johnny's shoulder and squeezed. "Who knows, maybe some therapy may help you."

Johnny nodded, but he already needed a drink. He looked out the window at the people milling about their day and wondered if they even had alcohol here. If he didn't get a drink, he knew he'd start to get the shakes and that was no good. He chewed the inside of his cheek for a second and wondered what he was going to do. He _needed_ a drink. He looked at Gyro and wanted to ask him, but he knew that he wasn't going to provide him something like alcohol in a hospital.

"I'll let you rest for the time being," Gyro said and headed back out the door.

Johnny went back to looking toward the window until he heard the door open again. He looked up as the nurse came back in. She was a pretty, petite young woman with short brown hair cut around her face in a bob and gray eyes.

"I'm Reimi Sugimoto, and I'll be your nurse while you're here, at least during the day," she said with a gentle smile.

"Hi, Reimi. Nice to meet you," he said and reached for her hand. She shook it lightly and went to turn down the covers on the bed.

"I hope you don't feel too poorly, but the malaise will set in and make you feel ill at first. It should only last a week, but we'll keep an eye on you," she told him as she filled a cup with water and sat it on the table.

Johnny wheeled over to her and took the water, thirsty beyond measure already. He gulped it down and sighed.

"Do you often pick up people exiled from Nova Columbia?" he wondered.

"We get some quite frequently," she responded, sitting down on the bed to look at him. "All types of people get sent out of the city. What happened to get you sent here?"

Johnny swallowed and shook his head. "Th-they never said. Just picked me up at my workplace and told me I was going to come with them. I don't know that I did anything…" he trailed off, the hazy night that he had been drunk came back to him. It was the only explanation for his exile he could think of. Someone thought he might talk. He jerked when Reimi put her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry," he whispered and shook his head.

"It's okay," she told him and patted his shoulder. "If you need to talk about anything, that's what we're all here for."

"Yes, thank you. Um, one thing, I ah, was a pretty heavy drinker before I got exiled, and I get shaky if I don't drink, y'know," he stammered, not wanting to ask this of Gyro.

She gave him that gentle smile again. "You won't find much alcohol on the islands, so it is best that you get used to not having it these days. We'll take care of you if you have trouble without it."

"Okay," he answered, swallowing a thick ball in his throat. He didn't know how he'd go without drinking. It was the only thing that dulled the loneliness he felt. But maybe here he wouldn't be lonely.

By the next morning, he found himself wanting a drink a lot more than he had ever wanted one in his life. Knowing he couldn't have one made it so much worse.

He turned his head toward the window and wondered about these islands and their people. To distract himself, he wheeled to the window and watched outside. There were lots of people and animals, he realized. There were dogs and what looked like some kind of deer that just wandered around the square and even into the buildings. There were cats and other feline creatures that would go from person to person and snuggle. He even saw fowl wandering about.

He already felt sick. He didn't know what it was from exactly, but it was already annoying to him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes because he swore that person was wearing a thong and nothing else that went by. And those two women looked like they were topless? He had no idea what to think of it. He wondered if he was seeing things. He knew that could happen without the alcohol, but he hadn't expected it so quickly.

"Morning, Johnny," he heard and turned to see Gyro standing in the doorway leaning against it.

"Good morning," he responded with a wan smile. "I was just watching outside."

"See anything interesting?" Gyro asked, coming into the room and standing beside him.

"People are a little bit, uh, freer with their dress, aren't they? Unless I'm seeing things," he muttered.

Gyro chuckled. "Yeah, clothing is something that is somewhat optional for a lot of people around here. We have nice weather and lots of sun, so people can go around with minimal dress."

Johnny nodded. "I see…" he wondered what else he would see in this new and very strange space he found himself in.

The next two days, he spent much the same way, just watching the world outside the window. He began to get shaky and swore something was crawling on his skin. He didn't know whether he should tell Gyro or not, but he began scratching at his arms to get the feeling to go away.

"Reimi said you used to drink a lot. It's called delirium tremens. DTs for short. You'll be going through it for a few days until your body gets used to not having alcohol. I imagine it is going to be difficult to go through both that and the adjustment sickness but at least you'll have both out of the way," Gyro said from the doorway again.

Johnny looked at him and tried to stop scratching at his skin. It was hard to do though because it felt like there were live bugs under it. "Is there anything you can give me to help with it? I'm gonna go mad with this feeling of bugs on me."

Gyro sighed and nodded. "I have some meds that might help, but they'll make you sleepy. It might be for the best that you sleep off the rest of this week."

"You're right, there," Johnny said and sighed, rubbing his arms with his hands so he didn't scratch them.

Gyro disappeared out of the doorway and came back a few minutes later with a couple of pills and some water. "Try these," he said as he handed them over.

Johnny didn't ask what they were, he just took them. Anything that would make this crawling sensation go away, he thought. He hoped it worked quickly.

"Tell me about what you did in the city," Gyro said as he came and sat down on the bed.

Johnny knew that he was trying to distract him from the sensations. He smiled. "Well, after I got shot and couldn't walk, I did data entry and that was really it. Before that, I used to work with the horses on our farm. After I lost the use of my legs, there wasn't a lot that I could do." Johnny sighed and ran a hand over his head, mind starting to wander as a wave off tiredness swept over him. The crawling sensation seemed to have abated a bit.

"I think I'll sleep for a while, Gyro," Johnny said as he wheeled over to the bed.

"Alright, call Reimi if you need anything," Gyro said with a small smile as he left the room.

Johnny transferred himself into the bed and fell into a fitful sleep. He had to wonder exactly what was going to happen to him over the next few days and weeks. All the lies, he wondered if anything they had been told about the world was true?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Steven Steel and his adopted daughter Lucy came to the entrance of Nova Columbia. Lucy was somewhat excited to come to the domed city for the first time. This was a city they had never been to on their travels across the planet of Murakami. They had been to most the major cities but they had yet to visit the impressive dome encased city where the most affluent people on the planet took up residence. They came to the entrance and were met with the gate guards that stood outside the dome.

Lucy watched as the dome entrance was opened for them to enter with their trade goods. They came into the city into a clean looking area where the common folks of the city milled around as they walked by with their cart and horses. They were headed toward the walled "upper city" as it was called, where they would do their trading.

She waved at someone and they gasped and ducked their head, turning away from her immediately. She frowned, curious as to why someone would do something like that. She was just being nice, which was something she always tried to do. She often talked to people in the cities they went to and made new friends among the common folks of the towns. This was different, though. The people of lower city kept from directly looking at them as much as they could, and they stayed well away from the guards that were escorting them through the city streets.

For a place that was known as lower city, it wasn't a bad looking area. The houses were in rows and all looked the same as they passed them by, but they were clean and seemed well maintained. There were office buildings off in the distance, probably where most the lower city residents worked. Lucy had noted a couple of small farms as they came into the city but nothing too large. They had hardly been worth noting at all, to be honest. They came to the wall that separated the lower city from the upper city and their escorts talked to the gate guards. After a few minutes, they were escorted through the gate into the upper city.

Lucy was surprised as the difference between upper and lower city was extreme. Here, there were opulent estates and large houses. There were parks and gardens set up frequently as well as large halls that took up great spaces of land. It was beautiful, and the people here stared openly at the newcomers as if sizing them up. Lucy felt somewhat uncomfortable with the leering stare of more than one person. She had to wonder why they were looking so hard at her.

"This is an odd city," she said to Steven as they walked slowly along the route they were taking to the trading hub of the upper city.

"Yeah, I'd heard before that the city was divided between the upper and lower classes, but I didn't expect it to be so… blatant." Steven put an arm around Lucy protectively and pulled her closer in to the cart as they walked.

"Those poor people down in the other part wouldn't even look at us," she complained, feeling extremely bothered by this fact.

"I noticed," Steven said as he ran a hand over his blond hair. He was just wanting to get to the trading hub and get this trip over with quickly, so they could move on to another city.

Lucy straightened her pink skirt and realized she was being stared at rather lewdly by a nobleman as they passed them in the street. She shivered at the look and was glad that their visit to this place would be short. At least, it was supposed to be short.

They arrived at the trading depot and were shown to a stall where they could set up their wares. Attached to each stall was a room for the merchants and traders to stay in. It was a simple but nicely put together little room that was big enough for two people easily. Lucy thought it looked like it was bigger than some of the houses they had seen in the lower city.

As they set up their wares, Lucy sat down inside the small apartment and thought about this strange place. She was used to seeing new and strange places, but this one was one of the first that she'd not felt like she could walk up to people and start a conversation. She wasn't sure what was going on with these people, but the common folks almost seemed afraid of them when they walked through lower city. She had to wonder what kind of life led these people to act like that around someone that came into the city from the outside.

Lucy wasn't sure what she thought of this place. She had been taken in by Steven Steel as a teenager and had spent the last few years being his ward. He took care of her in place of her family, who had been poor and unable to care for all their children. Steven had been kind and generous with her and she was glad of it. She enjoyed traveling from town to town.

She heard a bird call and looked up and saw one of the giant birds that worked alongside horses here. She jumped up and ran to the front of the stall and looked at it closer.

"They're so beautiful," she said as she watched the merchant walk the bird which was pulling his cart by them.

"But testy creatures," Steven said as he put out something else on the stall. "I'd rather keep with the horses, myself," he told her as he gave her a smile.

Lucy nodded, brushing her blonde hair out of her face and looking around as the other merchants set up for the day.

"I hope that this is profitable," she commented as she turned and went back into the small apartment to sit down again.

"I think it will be. If not, we'll set off for the next town," Steven explained. He knew his wares were good and attractive to the upper class in this city. He expected to turn quite a profit off these people since they loved to flaunt their wealth and show off. Many of his items were flashy and what some would consider garish and too much, but here it would do just fine, he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Travels

* * *

Diego Brando came back to Nova Columbia from one of his trips to another city in the area. As usual, the citizens of lower city looked down and away as he came into the entrance with his horse. He preferred riding to most other ways of transport, and he enjoyed the company of his equine companion. He made his way to the entrance of the upper city and was allowed through, leading his horse, Silver Bullet. He stabled him and decided to see what traders had come to the trade hub today. It was always interesting to see how new people reacted to Nova Columbia's striated class structure.

He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed, seeing no one of interest at first. The same wares; the same people. Boring and uninteresting. He was about to leave when he caught sight of a new seller. He wandered over and looked at his wares.

"Can I help you find something, sir?" the man with short, blond hair asked.

"You're new here. Have you traded in Nova Columbia before?" Diego asked, picking up a garishly flashy necklace and examining it. Someone here would buy that, he thought to himself.

"No, this is our first time here. I'm Steven Steel, and this is my daughter, Lucy." He gestured behind him to a slender girl with sandy blonde hair. She looked decidedly uncomfortable as she looked around at people.

Diego could imagine why that was. "Well, don't trust anyone here. They'll sell you out for a couple credits or a precious jewel."

Steven inclined his head and blinked at him. "Why do you say that?"

"Just remember that the upper class here in Nova Columbia is a fickle lot. You'd do well to keep your daughter away from any that come around here. Her youth will not deter some of their advances," he told Steven as he looked at another gaudy necklace.

"Aren't you in this upper class? You have to be, otherwise you can't get in here, right?" Steven wondered, glancing back at Lucy quickly.

Diego snorted. "I am now. I was lucky. I was part of a plot to overthrow a family up here. In doing so, I gained the favor of the others for my ruthlessness." He paused, adjusting his blue hat thoughtfully. "I would turn on any of them given a chance though."

Lucy got up and moved closer to them. Diego bet she wanted to hear better, since they were talking in hushed tones. "What do you mean about them not being deterred by Lucy's youth?" Steven asked just as Lucy came up behind him.

Diego leaned against the table and examined his nails on his right hand. "She's cute and innocent looking. Around here, that's the kind they prey on."

He watched as Lucy gripped Steven tighter, eyes going a bit wide. Steven patter her hand where it rested on his arm. "Well, we don't intend to have those kinds of interactions with people here."

"I'd keep an eye on her nonetheless. A no around here doesn't get much respect either," Diego cut his eyes at both of them before he went back to looking at the wares.

Moving along the back of the table, Steven kept pace with Diego. "You're obviously one of them; you're certainly not like those in the lower city."

Diego grinned, running his fingers over a particularly large stone in a necklace. "No, I'm not like those in the lower city. The people here in upper city would gladly step on any number of those poor, unfortunates."

"Is that why they won't talk to us?" Lucy asked, finally seeming to have been emboldened to speaking. "They think we're like the other upper-class people here?"

He nodded. "Speaking out of turn can get you killed around here."

"Why is it like this?" Steven finally asked, glancing about, seeing they were still alone on this side of the trading hub. "Why are the lower city people treated so poorly? Why don't they rise up? There are more of them than there are people here…"

Diego looked up at him. "Fear. They're afraid of what is outside the city and what sort of things go on out there. They believe what Valentine says. He tells them that it is a wild wasteland where nothing good lives and hides the fact that there are even other places in which to live out there. They believe him. They have no reason not to."

Steven glanced at Lucy, then looked up to see a man and woman coming toward the table. Diego turned around and arched a brow. "Speak of the devil," he muttered under his breath.

From the other side of the trading hub, a couple walked toward them. The woman had her arm through the man's and was looking around her as they walked. She had brown hair that fell about her shoulders and seemed rather aloof. The man had long blond hair that was curling around his shoulders and striking blue eyes. He had sighted the Steels and was coming straight for the table.

"Diego, fancy meeting you here," he said as they grew closer.

"Valentine," Diego acknowledged, nodding at him. He turned toward the woman and nodded toward her. "Ms. Valentine. I was just checking the wares they had. I believe they would be to Ms. Valentine's favor."

"Oh really?" she said and leaned forward to look at the various pieces of jewelry. "These are nice," she said quietly, but cut her eyes up at Lucy. She gave her a small smirk. "And who are you?"

Lucy swallowed and tried to smile her best. "I'm Lucy Steel. My father and I just came here for the first time, Ms. Valentine."

"Lucy, what a lovely name for a lovely girl. Please, call me Scarlet," she said and extended a dainty hand toward the younger girl.

Lucy took her hand, and Diego couldn't help but notice that Scarlet held on to her hand a bit longer than necessary. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her not so subtle flirting. He couldn't imagine the bad luck to have gained _her_ attention.

"Ah yes, I'm Steven Steel. Have a look and see if there is anything that interests you among my wares." Steven kept a smile on his face despite his discomfort at how familiarly this woman was with Lucy.

"Well, welcome to Nova Columbia, Mr. Steel," Valentine said with a nod toward him. "I do hope you enjoy the upper city while you are here. I do apologize that you must come through the lower city on your way to our beautiful city," he smiled, patting Scarlet's hand idly.

Diego held his tongue. He had a lot he could say about this city and how the Valentines ran the place. His mother had died in lower city due to their way of running it. He glanced at Steven Steel and his daughter, wondering which they were: weak-willed sheep like most of those in lower city, or wolves that would do anything to survive. He knew where he fell on that spectrum, it was just a matter determining where others fell.

"Ah, yes, people in your lower city weren't very personable," Steven cleared his throat and watched as Scarlet looked over the various pieces he had to offer. Each one was unique and well crafted.

"What can you expect from such classless individuals. That's why I prefer to stay here in the upper city, away from the rabble." Valentine watched as his wife picked up a piece to look closer at it.

"All the gems are real," Steven assured as she looked it over. "And hand-made too."

"Oh, it is lovely. Don't you think this would complement that dress I have for the mid-summer ball?" she asked Valentine.

He nodded. "If you like it, my dear. It would be beautiful on you."

"Yes, I think so," she said with a smile.

Valentine paid with credits for the purchase, making Steven quite happy. A couple more sales and he'd have paid for their way to the next stop on their journey. A few more than that, and they would be able to stop off at the islands nearby to relax for a couple days. That would be nice after this stressful visit.

Diego was about to turn and go when Valentine put a hand out to stop him. "Yes?" he asked, turning around.

"Will you be attending the next event?" Valentine asked him, a slight smile upon his lips.

Shaking his head, Diego smiled a little as well. "No, I'll be heading to another town before long."

"That's too bad; you always make things interesting," Scarlet said then turned her attention back to Lucy. "My dear, would you like to come to the ball? I can find you a cute little dress to wear, I'm sure…"

Lucy's eyes widened a little and she stammered a reply. "Oh, um, we'll be moving on before mid-summer."

"Oh, yes, always on the move to the next city to trade!" Steven interjected, obviously noticing his daughter's discomfort at the older woman's attention. To be honest, he was more than a little bothered by it, and Diego's warnings ran fresh in his mind.

Scarlet tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Ah, that is unfortunate. I bet you would be quite a hit at the ball."

Diego wanted to roll his eyes at how blatant Scarlet was being. He knew that the woman had little to no tact, but to flirt so openly with a girl as young as Lucy. He noted several others leering at the young girl, and he knew that she would indeed be popular in the noble circles with her looks. Still, it didn't change the fact that she was in no way an appropriate age. He was glad that Steven seemed to be taking him seriously and making it clear she wasn't going to participate in the upper-class's "games" such as they were.

"I'm afraid I must be going," Diego announced.

"Oh, where are you headed this time?" Valentine asked, brow arched in questioning.

"Visiting the Morioh Islands next. There's a couple contacts there that I want to speak with," he explained, glancing toward the gate. The longer he was here, the more he felt his skin crawl being around the Valentines.

Valentine snorted. "Ah, those barbaric islands."

"Barbaric?" Steven asked, frowning.

Diego cocked an eyebrow at the description. "I don't know if I'd call them barbaric…"

"Isn't that where we're heading next?" Lucy said, looking a bit worried now.

"Yes, they're a barbaric and naïve bunch that live there. The dregs of society have washed up on those shores, and they accept them with open arms. They'll never appreciate your wares, and I doubt you'll sell much of anything with _those_ people." Valentine flipped his hair back over his shoulder with a huff of breath.

Steven exchanged a look with Diego. "I'd heard they were a small and welcoming community…" he said and tried not to look worried himself.

"They are definitely are; too welcoming. The way they live is practically communism," Valentine commented with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Certainly, of no use to such fine items as you sell."

"Well, I have to be heading out soon," Diego said, feeling even more like he needed to get away from the place. "I'm staying here in Nova Columbia tonight and setting out tomorrow for the islands."

"Ah, well, good luck on your excursion. Hopefully you make some decent business dealings with those _people_ out there on the islands." Valentine nodded to him.

"Good day," Diego said with a slight bow toward them and walked back toward the upper city entrance. He'd rather sleep near his horse.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Johnny blinked as the sunlight began streaming into the room. He looked over to see the nurse, Reimi, had pulled open the window curtains. He covered his eyes for a minute until he got used to the bright light.

"Mr. Joestar," she said gently as she came over by the side of the bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Johnny smiled at her. "Better. I think I'm finally getting through this adjustment period and getting used to not having the alcohol."

"It can be hard to get used to, that's for certain," she assured as she pushed the tray with breakfast over toward him. "If you are up to it, why don't you take a trip around the town square and meet some of the townspeople."

"I might do that," Johnny said as he sat up in the bed. "I would like to meet some of the other people that live around here. Maybe get to know who I'll be living around."

She left him to his breakfast, and Johnny ate in silence. It had been a rough week or so since he got here, but he was starting to feel more normal again. He still craved having a drink, but it wasn't such a driving force to him right now. He supposed that his history with alcohol should have been enough of an excuse to stop drinking. He hadn't had the reason to stop, though, and as things got worse, the only relief he found was in the form of spirits. He had just finished his breakfast when he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see Gyro standing there with a half grin.

"Gyro," Johnny said, smiling. He'd already come to like the strange doctor's company. He wasn't like any other doctor he'd ever seen, but he did seem to know what he was doing.

"Reimi tells me you might get out and about today," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

Johnny nodded, shifting to sit on the side of the bed so he could transfer over to the wheelchair. "Yeah, she suggested it, and it looks like a nice day to take a look around the place. I mean, if I'm going to be living here, I should get used to the people and places around here." He paused and then transferred over with relative ease, the motion much practiced since he lost the use of his legs. "Um, speaking of living here, any idea where I'm going when I leave here?"

Gyro looked thoughtful for a second. "I thought you could come stay with me for now. I want to see if I can't do something about your spinal injury to get some use of your legs back to you."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked as he rolled over toward him.

"Yeah, my place is big enough. Too big for me alone, really, but the town insisted on giving me one of the larger places since I was going to be the main doctor here." He stepped aside to give Johnny room to come out of the room into the hallway. "But you should head out and see who you can meet out there today. I'm sure there are plenty of colorful individuals for you to speak to and get to know."

Johnny nodded as he came to the exit and looked back at Gyro. "I'll be back around lunchtime, I guess," he said as he wheeled himself out.

It was still early, so there weren't a lot of people out yet. He was enjoying the nice midsummer weather, though. It was still kind of cool but not cold at all. He made his way to one of the only people that he could see in the town square. A tall, blond haired man with an extraordinary amount of muscle was clearing the ground in the middle of a marked off circle. Johnny came over to him and watched him work on it for a few second.

"Um, what is it you're doing?" he asked finally after he watched for a while.

The man turned around and smiled at Johnny. "Clearing the Sabbath area for the next bonfire."

"Sabbath? Oh, like the guys were talking about. Some sort of fire that changes color?" Johnny remembered the one who was petting him saying something like that.

"I'm Whammu," he said and leaned over to extend a hand toward him. Johnny shook with him, finding his grip to be as strong as he would imagine from such an impressively built man.

"Johnny, Johnny Joestar," Johnny answered with a nervous smile.

"You haven't been here very long, have you?" Whammu continued sweeping out the area as he spoke.

Johnny nodded. "Um, yeah, just getting over the adjustment and stuff. Um, so this Sabbath, is it like a religious thing or something?"

"I guess you could say that," he said. "Everyone believes their own thing, really. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, there's no problem.

"So, no human sacrifices and blood orgies?" Johnny blurted finally, unable to contain the questions that he had any long.

Whammu paused and stared at him for a good, long minute. "Um, no. Where did you hear such a thing?"

"I'm from Nova Columbia. They tell tales of the people here, but it doesn't seem that many of them are true," Johnny explained. "What do you do on this Sabbath?"

"We celebrate the lives of everyone that lives here. I guess you could say Kars, who is kind of like our high priest, leads the town in a religious pursuit of peace and thankfulness to the world around us. We use a bonfire and sometimes throw substances on it that change the color of the flame. Everyone is invited, and Kars often speaks of ways to help others during the week between the Sabbaths," Whammu explained with a soft smile. "Tomorrow is the Sabbath, so we'll tend the fire for most of the day and have everyone come to dusk and dawn gatherings."

Johnny felt a little better about this place now that he knew more about them. It was hard to get used to everything being so strange and being outside was even more different from watching from the hospital window. He already knew that there were some people who would strike him as odd just from those observations. He was still thinking when a small creature ran up his leg onto his lap and stared at him. It was a small reddish colored thing with big ears. It made a noise at him and Johnny wasn't sure what to do.

"Little Wing!" he heard and looked up to see a man with long brown hair. "Oh, you're the one we brought in last week!"

Johnny stared for a second, then it clicked in his mind where he'd heard that voice before. This was the one that had been sitting with him on the boat.

"Yeah," Johnny said, still not sure what to think of the creature in his lap.

"Sorry about Little Wing, he got away from me. Come here, you," he said and picked up the animal. "He's a Fennec fox. My brother Andre has one too, she's named Foxy Lady."

"And you are?" Johnny asked, watching the small fox climb up on his shoulder.

"Oh! I'm L.A. My dad is Benjamin. We're the Boom Boom family," L.A. said with a grin. He looked up as another man came up behind him. "Andre, look, it's the one we brought in last week!"

Andre, a slender man with messy black hair under a cap, nodded, holding his own small red fennec fox. "Nice to see you out. Get through the adjustment sickness?"

"Yeah, finally feeling human again," Johnny said with a grin. These guys weren't so bad, he guessed.

"That's good," Andre nodded and grabbed L.A. by the arm. "Come on, we're late for breakfast with you chasing Little Wing all over the place."

"Bye!" L.A. called as they headed off.

Johnny shook his head and saw that while he was talking to L.A. and Andre, the big man named Whammu had left, apparently done with whatever he'd been doing. He wheeled away from the town center and saw a tall woman with extremely long black hair with a shorter guy with silvery hair. They both were dressed in light clothes it looked like. As they walked, they held hands. They seemed normal enough, he thought to himself. They came toward him and waved as they got closer.

"Hello there, you're new around here," the woman said, pushing her hair behind her ears.

Johnny smiled and nodded. "I'm Johnny," he said and reached a hand toward them. The guy took his hand and shook it first, followed by the woman.

"I'm Yukako, and this is Koichi. We live nearby," the woman said with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you." Johnny didn't see anyone else at the moment.

"Same," Koichi said as he smiled too.

"Koichi, Yukako," another voice called. Johnny turned in his chair and blinked a bit owlishly because this time it was a man with blond hair and nothing but what looked like a thong. He had been expecting to see some of the people that went around with little clothing, but he was surprised so early in the morning for someone to be out dressed so minimally.

"Oh, hey, Melone," Koichi waved as the other man approached them. "This is Johnny, he's new here."

Melone reached a hand toward Johnny with a grin and shook his hand. "Good to meet you, Johnny. You must be very new."

"Um, yeah, I just got out of the hospital for the first time today," Johnny told him, trying not to stare.

Melone crossed his arms and looked at the couple again. "How was your weekend? I haven't seen you this week yet."

"I spent a quiet one at home," Yukako said and nodded toward Koichi.

"I spent the weekend with Rohan." Koichi frowned a little. "But he was in one of his moods, so all we did was cuddle."

"Aw, well, it's nice to have a relaxing do-nothing weekend now and then," Melone said, patting Koichi on the back as he went by. "I'll talk to you later, going to get some supplies."

Johnny was still staring at Koichi, though. Had he just said he spent the weekend with someone else? He thought they were a couple?

"Erm, so, where are you from, Johnny?" Yukako asked as Melone disappeared into a building.

"Ah, Nova Columbia," Johnny explained, turning his eyes on the taller woman now.

She smirked. "Well, you're in for a wild ride here," she muttered, nearly too low to be heard.

"Things are different here," Johnny confirmed and thought about just how much different they seemed to be.

Koichi nodded. "You'll get used to things around here pretty quick. There's a lot of good people here that will help you out when you need it. Have you found a place to stay yet?"

"Um, yeah, I'm going to stay with Gyro for now," he answered.

He noticed the couple exchanged a glance and there was a ghost of a smile on her lips as she spoke. "Ah, that's nice. He doesn't have people stay with him often."

Johnny nodded. "He's going to try and help me with my legs a little bit, see if I can't get some use back in them."

"Private doctor visits," Yukako grinned now. "But we should be going. It was nice meeting you Johnny, see you around!"

"Later!" Koichi said as they took each other's hand and walked off toward a building.

Johnny watched them go, then decided it was time to head back to the hospital. While he felt better, he was easily drained of energy. He headed back and found Gyro waiting near the front. He smiled as Johnny came up.

"Did you have a good trip around the town center?" Gyro asked.

"I did. I met some interesting people," Johnny explained as he came back into the room. Gyro walked beside him as he pushed himself down to his room again.

"Oh?" Gyro held the door open, so Johnny could get back into his room.

"Yeah, I met the big tall guy that was cleaning up the bonfire area, a nearly naked man, and a couple who seemed to have an interesting relationship. All in all, it was a rather odd experience. I'm trying to get used to the different kinds of people that are here. It is so much different from the way Nova Columbia is." Johnny maneuvered himself back into the bed, intending to take a nap before lunch when Gyro left.

"Ah, you met Whammu getting ready for the Sabbath tomorrow. You should come to it in the morning. It is quite an interesting spectacle. Everyone on the islands sort of communally becomes a part of the religion that Kars heads up. It is good for everyone to have a sense of community like that, though," Gyro told him as he leaned on the back of the wheelchair.

"And getting used to the way people do and don't wear clothes is weird," Johnny muttered, pulling the covers up over his lap and sighing. He was really starting to feel the strain just from such a short trip around the town square.

"I take it by nearly naked man, you met Melone?" Gyro smirked as he stood there.

"Yeah, that was his name," Johnny confirmed. "He seemed nice enough."

"He's a good guy, a lab tech actually. But of course, he doesn't dress that way when he's working," Gyro explained.

"That's probably a good thing," Johnny said, yawning a little. "Then I met this couple but the guy was talking about spending the weekend with another guy, but they looked like they were together, so I was a bit confused."

Gyro looked thoughtful for a second. "Ah, Koichi and Yukako, I think. Koichi and Rohan see each other as well. Koichi and Yukako have an open relationship with each other. Just a small sample of the different types of people you'll find around here."

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, that was them. I think I'm going to take a nap before lunch, though. It was a bit tiring."

"Alright," Gyro said and stood up. "Have a nice rest and I'll see you after lunch. Tomorrow we'll get you moved to my place."

Johnny muttered ascent and put his head down in the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Good morning, Johnny!" a chipper voice spoke, bringing Johnny up out of his sleep. He blinked as it wasn't all the way light yet outside. He turned his head to see Reimi. She smiled. "Do you want to visit the dawn Sabbath today? It starts in a little while!"

Johnny had mentioned to them last night he wanted to attend. He smiled and saw that she had brought him a cup of coffee. He was glad they at least had good like coffee on the islands. He sat up in the be and picked it up carefully.

"Yeah, I wanted to see it this morning," he said with a grin. He really did want to know what went on at these Sabbath celebrations. So far, everything was a far bit away from the stories that went around Nova Columbia. He was beginning to see how ridiculous the rumors were about this world outside the dome.

After he drank his coffee and got transferred to his wheelchair, he followed Reimi out of the hospital. He saw that there were many people already surrounding the bonfire. A few people moved over so Johnny could be closer and could see everything. The bonfire wasn't lit yet, but as he watched, a tall, thickly muscled man with long blackish hair came up behind it and lit the fire. Soon, it was blazing up in the center of the area.

Someone tapped Johnny on the shoulder and he was handed a slip of paper and a pen. He looked at it for a second, then glanced around to see others writing on their slips of paper. Reimi leaned down an whispered to him.

"Write your wish or hope for the week," she explained.

Johnny nodded, jotting something down quickly, then passing the pen on to someone else. He looked at the small slip of paper and his extremely simple hope and he wondered what other people wrote on theirs. The man at the front raised his arms as the sun began to rise. Light began to flood the area and everyone got quiet. Johnny remembered the day before when Whammu had said that Kars was the name of the one that presided over the Sabbaths. He looked over and saw Whammu standing behind and to the side with another heavily muscled man.

"Good morning!" Kars began. The crowd responded in kind. "Another week is ahead of us, as another week is behind us. Let us begin the day together. Our hopes, dreams, and wishes for the week shall be cast into the fire to be lifted up. Fire will take our words to the sky and bring us good things this week!"

Johnny listened as Kars went on to talk about things going on across the islands, and things that people were doing. He asked everyone to honor the elements of the world and thank them for all they give to them. The crowd grew a little as the event went on, obviously some late comers to the event. No one was bothered by the lateness of anyone else, it seemed. Soon, Kars stepped out and threw a hand full of powder into the flames of the bonfire. It turned several colors then seemed to glow bluish in the morning light. Everyone stepped forward and began tossing their slips of paper into the flame. Johnny threw his into the flame and watched it turn to ash and smoke. Somehow, he felt better after doing it.

"What did you write down?" Reimi asked as Johnny took off back toward the hospital.

"Just that this week continues to improve for me. Nothing much," Johnny said as they got back into the hospital.

"I'm sure it will. Today, you get settled in at Gyro's place. It should be a nice change from staying in the hospital." Reimi patted him on the shoulder as she passed to go down the hallway.

Johnny paused and thought about that. What would it be like, living with Gyro? He liked the guy, he was a good doctor, but to live with someone that he barely knew… He swallowed the nerves that were threatening to make him rethink the arrangement. No, Gyro wanted to help him. He would stay with him and see if he could help him after all.


End file.
